It seems people make friends two ways:

1) chatting people and finding each other interesting

2) going through difficult shit together and thus bonding, building camaraderie (see: battlefield or sports team friendships)

If your social life lags and 1) is not working, try 2)

My two best friends come from a) surviving a "deathmarch" project that was downright heroic (worst week was over 100 hours logged) together b) going to a university preparation course, both get picked on by the teacher who did not like us, and then both failing the entry exam in a spectacular way.

Questions:

a) correct?

b) how do you intentionally put yourself into difficult shit with other people so that you can bond and build camaraderie?